CubeSat launch

Today two small satellites, designed and built in Denmark, are to be released from the International Space Station’s Kibo laboratory and start their mission in space: the student-built AAUSat-5 and the technology demonstrator GomX-3. At 15:55 PM CEST, an astronaut will manipulate the Japanese robotic arm to lift the satellites from the airlock and place them into orbit.

CubeSats, measuring only 10x10x10 cm, or multiples of it, are gaining increasing popularity.

The GomX-3 cubesat will demonstrate new radio technology to support the tracking of civil aircraft and measure telecom satellite signal quality. AAUSat-5 will demonstrate the tracking of ships on the open sea. AAUSat-5 mission control in Aalborg University, Denmark, are streaming their control room live from 18:00 CEST:

18:00 AAUSAT5 goes active and starts emitting beacon
18:28 First pass to be received by our ground station in Austria
20:04 AAU
20:05 Austria

A prize is available for the first amateur radio enthusiast to pick up signals from AAUsat-5. Read more about this competition and how to take part on the ESA education website.